waggy 44 vs. jk 44

[billyjp2]

JK 44s are notorious for bending tubes even during mild offroading

 

[emr1101]

well seems like getting these axles is a lucrative business in itself haha. I really like the fact that the TJs are bolt in, thats pretty sweet, but those ball joints would be getting replaced verrrry often on 37" tires that I was considering running, also the lack of high steer kind of sucks, i would have to get a tera knuckle or something similar which is another like 300-400. Exactly how much of a terrible pain in the ass is it to shorten a 44?

 

[Starboard M]

The JK D44s are not bolt in, I think the UCA mounts might be close if I remember correctly, but the LCAs are not. You will have to redo all the bracketry. They are also 32 splines compared with 30 splined TJ shafts. The carriers and gears are different than other D44s. They are also wider than stock XJ axles, and have a 5x5.5 pattern.

They have a 5x5 pattern, not a 5x5.5.




The JK axles are both good and bad. They have limited aftermarket support, as they have only been out for a couple of years. They are a "cheap and easy" 44 swap.

Then again, they are not true 44s. Last I checked they had limited gear options. The tubes have been known to break in half. Spares are going to be expensive. Very odd lug pattern, meaning you have to have your own spare, and buy all new wheels.



My advise, build the 30. Wheel for a couple of years, and figure out what you break, and the best option to fix that. Building front axles isnt hard, but it gets expensive fast. :lecture:

 

[derrickdrew17]

JK 44s are notorious for bending tubes even during mild offroading

Never herd of that one.. but i would think you can brace them as you can D30's

 

[emr1101]

Never herd of that one.. but i would think you can brace them as you can D30's

I havent heard that either, are they weaker than a d30s tubes?

 

[billyjp2]

I havent heard that either, are they weaker than a d30s tubes?

http://www.jkowners.com/forum/showthread.php?p=57036

 

[Begster]

They have a 5x5 pattern, not a 5x5.5.

My bad.

Have they fixed the problem with the axle tubes yet where they break at the trackbar weld?

That was a big problem for a while, the axle tube on passenger side would crack, splitting the whole tube.

 

[KaiserMan]

I just remembered something I read on pirate a while back. Seems there was a problem with the upper half of the inner C being a weak point. haven't heard much on it any where else, but I don't pay much attention to JK forums.

 

[emr1101]

Well what does every one think about shortening a 44? How hard is that? I mean i guess one advantage is you can adjust the angle the pinion points a little bit so you can favor your steering and driveshaft angles at the same time.

 

[shmoken875]

I would not build one either. If I wanted to drop coin into an axle for my XJ I'd do up a 9" or a 60.

I would run one (Waggy D44) in stock form though. A lot stronger then a stock D30, especially an early one like the one in my 90 with the 260X joints.

I don't regret dropping the D44 in my 71 for the D60. Might drop my D61 into my 63, after it gets regeared. 3.07's and a 230 OHC 6 would not be pleasent.

The waggy shaft minor diameter is actually smaller than the D30 axle shaft minor diameter because of the neck down at the carrier. I sheared mine at the neck down my first run after building the 44. They are definitely a worthwhile axle with chromos though. With chromos and superjoints mine ran around $2700 IIRC.

 

[emr1101]

damn, i was quoted $3800 for a locked and shafted and welded up 44 with the works built and put in a crate and shipped to me.

 

[shmoken875]

this is what I ended up doing: http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=466573

it's held up pretty good, I run 35" BFGs and sometimes 36x13.50 irocs and romp pretty good. The only victim so far was ball joints, which seems to be pretty typical.

 

[Starboard M]

damn, i was quoted $3800 for a locked and shafted and welded up 44 with the works built and put in a crate and shipped to me.

I bet that is a 44 center section that you have to reuse your stock D30 outers.





If your going to go through the trouble of building a 44, you may as well rotate the inner Cs. At the same time, its pretty easy to narrow it. A HP44 isnt that much more to start out with, so just narrow it, and call it good.

 

[emr1101]

yeah thats what im leaning towards, that will be the strongest and prob relatively cheapest method, building it from the ground up, but will certainly be the hardest.

 

[Begster]

Depending on your level of fab skill and experience, its more time consuming than difficult.

I think its about ten times easier to rotate the inner C's when narrowing the axle, so you can just cut the tubes out of them.

Either way, you are looking to spend between $2,000 and $3,000 with locker, gears, shafts, steering, and brackets/truss. If you have access to all the tools and are doing all the work yourself. (No shop)

 

[emr1101]

For the price and fab skills required, this is looking less and less like a viable option for me. What is everyone's opinion of the TJ 44? I know its a direct bolt in with the right gears and locker, except no highsteer. Everything else is just like the dana 30, yet the only thing I am really adament about upgrading is the ring gear it self. Though Im guessing a truss might be in order. But apart from that what do you guys think?

 

[MoparManiac]

I'd stick with a HP30 over the TJ rubi 44.

You're not gaining much, losing driveshaft clearance, and the same u-joint is still the weak link.

I'd only build a HP44 if I were to do it over again.

 

[BenDiesel]

didnt ford use a high pinion 44 in some of their older full size? couldn't some one use the case from that and the tubes from a wagoneer to make a axle

 

[Begster]

The pictures I posted is a high pinion D44 from a '77 Ford F150 that I narrowed down to a custom width but cutting off and re-welding the inner C's back on.

The way you suggested would be a more time and work consuming way of narrowing the axle. It is easier to cut the inner C's off, cut some of the tube down, then weld the C's back on.

You would need two axles to do that, which would mean more money, and just a lot of extra work. You would also need to get the axle tubes out of the housing, which isn't the easiest thing.

 

[Crewdude007]

I recently saw something in JP magazine about a "true" dana 44 that was a bolt-in for the TJ. Did I miss something? Was that the $3K axle talked about a few pages back? I'm also thinking about a d44 front swap.